After finally being unveiled in production form, BMW‘s first ever plug-in hybrid SUV is set to take the world by storm, especially since this is clearly the direction in which the luxury SUV segment is going.
Sure, right now you can buy all sorts of petrol and diesel-powered SUVs, regardless of manufacturer. But what about 10 years from now? Odds are everybody is going to be using advanced hybrid powertrains, if not all-electric.
Of course, BMW prides itself of being at the forefront of new technologies and there’s no way this 313 PS X5 is leaving anybody unimpressed. Even though 313 PS sound great, what’s more interesting is the average fuel consumption of 3.4-3.3 l/100km ((83.1–85.6 mpg UK or 69.1-71.2 mpg US).
If you don’t want to use any petrol, run the car on electricity and you’ll definitely be happy, at least for the first 30 km (19 miles), and up to 120 km/h. Then you have to go through the charging process, which according to project leader Gerhard Thiel, takes less than four hours (at a standard household outlet).
Naturally the goal for these types of cars is to limit the importance of the petrol-powered unit and further develop the electric engine. Since we mentioned the “next 10 years”, it’s safe to say that we can expect better autonomy from our hybrids.
Until then, you can pride yourself on owning an X5 xDrive40e or one of its direct rivals such as the Audi Q7 e-tron, Volvo XC90 T8 or Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid.
However, not all of them can talk about being able to offer as sporty a drive as the BMW.